Philadelphia 76ers former MVP center Joel Embiid was benched on Saturday. He sat out the entire final quarter of the Sixers’ latest blunder, a Saturday 105-103 loss to the Brooklyn Nets on a buzzer-beater put-back from center Nic Claxton.

Joel Embiid is done for the season, at last shut down following the lingering effects of knee surgery. But plenty of hard questions remain in Philadelphia.

As losers of nine games in a row, the Sixers (20-38) began Friday a game behind the Nets for the 11th seed in the East.

The reigning MVP, plagued by injuries, played in just 39 games last year and only 19 this season before being sidelined. His production was noticeably down, averaging 23.8 points and 8.2 rebounds per game,